AB 062: America’s Beer Revolution With The Founding Father of Sam Adams, Jim Koch, On How He Brewed Craft Beer Into An Empire

EP 51-100,

AB 062: America’s Beer Revolution With The Founding Father of Sam Adams, Jim Koch, On How He Brewed Craft Beer Into An Empire

April 21, 2016

Today, the United States craft beer industry employs over 100,000 individuals brewing more than 24 million barrels of beer per year, generating roughly $22.3 billion in retail sales. However in 1984, when Jim Koch decided to start a brewing company, that was not the case. In fact, it seemed like an unwinnable David and Goliath struggle: one guy against the mammoth American beer industry. When others scoffed at Jim Koch’s plan to leave his consulting job and start a brewery that would challenge American palates, he chose a nineteenth-century family recipe and launched Samuel Adams. As co-founder and Chairman of The Boston Beer Company he is releasing a new book called “Quench Your Own Thirst: Business Lessons Learned Over a Beer or Two” to tell his stories of founding and growing his business. He joins us to discuss his success and why he hopes the future the beer industry is in craft brewing.